#NFLTechSeries 2013: San Francisco 49ers

Our 2013 NFL Tech Series provides a quick hit of tech insight on all 32 NFL teams up until kickoff of Week 1 of the regular season. Each feature includes the latest tech advances implemented by the organization in the effort to advance the team’s success… in a wide variety of venues.

Stadium experience, fan engagement, mobile technologies, player performance and health, statistical data gathering and analysis… any and all aspects of the organization’s procedures in the effort to find success in the NFL is on the table. We’re uncovering those efforts, investigating those innovations and pondering the benefit they might provide, for the team, players and fans alike… today and looking forward.

Today’s focus is on the San Francisco 49ers as they look to their final season at Candlestick Park as well as the numerous technological amenities of new Levi’s Stadium, their home for the 2014 season and beyond.

The NFL is terrified of my mom. She’s a nice woman and generally non-threatening, but the people at the NFL know that she could ruin them. That’s because when you ask her if she wants to go to a game, she hits you with a look that simultaneously communicates confusion and disgust. “Why would anyone WANT to go to a football game?” she’ll ask. “It’s so much nicer at home and you can see everything better on TV anyway!”

This is what terrifies the NFL. Casual fans with enough sense to realize that the television product it has put together is not only cheaper than attending a game, but it’s actually a better viewing experience. Your ticket to an NFL game is rapidly becoming nothing more than a license to buy $10 beers and strategically time your urine patterns for 4 hours. And so, where the NFL once endeavored to make the game day experience vastly different from the experience of watching at home, now it hopes to convince you that it’s extremely similar.

Originally built for the San Francisco Giants, Candlestick Park isn’t a natural venue for the NFL.

The 49ers have the most ground to make up on this front. Perhaps the most unpleasant of all NFL venues is Candlestick Park. The place is an absolute dump.

It was originally built as a baseball stadium (the dugouts still exist), which means the seats are laid out awkwardly, concession stands and bathrooms can only comfortably service about 30,000 people, and the stadium parking lot has no chance of accommodating everyone. Oh, and did I mention that it is surrounded by water on three sides and the fourth side is a neighborhood violent enough to get an exposé in the New York Times?

Enter Levi’s Stadium; the still-in-construction future home of the San Francisco 49ers.

Starting in 2014, the 49ers will relocate to the heart of Silicon Valley. In keeping with the local industry, the 49ers are attempting to construct the most technologically advanced venue ever.

Construction and Amenities

Perhaps the most admirable part about the design of Levi’s Stadium is that it attempts to cater to both die-hard and casual fans. The logistics of getting to and from the game, the ease of navigating the interior of the stadium, and the live viewing experience will all be greatly enhanced.

The 49ers will have a Legacy Club right on the field of play. (Courtesy San Francisco 49ers)

First and foremost, Levi’s is built to be a football stadium, not a baseball field with extra seats built up and folded in wherever possible. Two-thirds of the stadium’s total 68,500 seats will be in the lower bowl, which will improve the view of the game at almost every ticket price point. The concourse will also be an open breezeway with concession stands positioned on the exterior of the circle to allow fans to hear and see the game even when they are not in their seats.

Levi’s will also offer many more amenities. Levi’s will house 370 concession stands compared to 239 at Candlestick, 250 additional bathrooms, 3,000 additional parking spots. Moving around the stadium will be much easier as well due to the concourses that will be 63 feet wide compared to 19 feet at Candlestick.

The scoreboards may be the most pronounced change that fans will notice. Two fascia scoreboards, together totaling 13,600 square feet of display area, will be located at either end of the field. This is great for fans who want to actually see replays; not so good for referees who make bad calls.

Behind the Scenes Tour of Levi’s Stadium – Set to Open Week 1 of the 2014 season:

Mobile App

The mobile app being developed to enhance the stadium experience is what is generating the most buzz lately and will likely be what really sets Levi’s apart. Most notably, the application promises the ability to somehow monitor wait times at concessions and bathrooms so fans can gauge when and where to go to get another beer or… um, relieve yourself.

49ers CEO Jed York also indicated that they are working on adding the ability to order food directly from your phone or tablet. After placing the order, you will be able to either pick it up at a nearby concession stand or have it delivered to your seat. Imagine that glorious moment when your girlfriend says “hey can we go get a soda?” in the middle of the 4th quarter and you can happily say “Oh, no problem babe, I’ll just have it delivered.” This is man’s finest hour.

But how, you ask, will you pay for food if it is ordered through the app? The 49ers have thought of that too; and in fact the solution is part of a larger plan to make the entire game experience paperless and credit card-less. Although you will still be able to get a paper ticket and pay with cash, you won’t have to. It can all be handled through your smartphone.

Video Feeds and Social Media

Levi’s Stadium will feature a mobile app to help optimize beer and bathroom trips. (Courtesy San Francisco 49ers)

The Mobile App will also allow fans to access the network television broadcast of the game, alternate video feeds and replays of what they just saw live and in real time. The app will also stream the NFL Red Zone channel over an IPTV (internet protocol television) connection so you can see scoring plays of other games happening around the league.

In other words, that one friend who is inexplicably a Dolphins fan can watch all his team’s scoring driv… ok, maybe it’s less useful for Dolphins fans.

The 49ers are partnering with Yahoo! as the official social media partner of Levi’s stadium. This means you will be able to track your fantasy football team through the stadium app, access exclusive information about players on the field and watch video content from around the league. You will also be able to participate in game promotions and interface with other fans through the gameday app.

WiFi Access

Given all this mobile activity, you may worry that the Stadium will become a wireless nightmare. To ensure no fan experiences any trouble with any of the offered mobile services, the 49ers are building a wireless network robust enough to handle 75,000 different connections simultaneously. To design and build this system, the Niners brought in Dan Williams and Kunal Malik, the men responsible for building a similar network for the Facebook campus.

Sustainability

Northern California loves itself some sustainability. I mean, the streets are a sea of Priuses (or Prii? Prium? Seriously, would someone freaking decide on the plural for Prius?). Fittingly, Levi’s will be the first professional football stadium to be LEED certified. The 49ers have also partnered with SunPower Corp., who will supply solar panels on the roof of the stadium (which doubles as a garden with a bar in it, by the way), on top of the team’s training facility and on various bridges leading to the Stadium. Altogether, the power generated from these panels will be enough to offset all the power used during game-days.

49ers fans have a lot to be excited about. Getting to the game will be easier, the views will be better and the game day experience will be awesome. Just one more year at the ‘Stick. Sigh…

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K.B. Ruess is a frustrated athlete who was cursed with a terribly unathletic body. He was forced to take a working stiff job, but spends his spare time writing on his blog at Sportsbent. He can also be found on Twitter at @Sportsbent.